Communication is not equal to Contamination

Luke 4:1-13

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished. The devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread." Jesus answered him, "It is written, 'One does not live by bread alone.'"
Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And the devil said to him, "To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours." Jesus answered him, "It is written,

'Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.'"

Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written,

'He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you,'

and

'On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.'"

Jesus answered him, "It is said, 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'" When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.

Communication is not equal to Contamination


“I saw Lizzie Proctor talkin’ to The Devil!” -Salem Mass.
I see Jesus Christ talkin’ to the devil, so what? - Matagorda Tx.


The opposite of Faith is not disbelief, doubt, skepticism, or even atheism.


The opposite of Faith is FEAR.


Today there is a fear-based Puritanism in many parts of the Church that eschews contact or even conversation with those who are living a sinful life. Where does that come from?
It comes from applying a human understanding of purity instead of the Bible understanding that we have been taught and that we profess to believe.


Human purity is venerable.


In human understanding a white garment fresh from the laundry will never be cleaner than it is before it is worn. Just putting it on will subject it to wrinkles, sweat and body oils. Not to contemplate the thought of wearing white and going to work in the fields, in the soup kitchen, in the leprosarium, in the slaughter house. What was once pure and clean is now soiled and corrupted by contact with the world.


But is the priority keeping your clothes clean, or going into the world to get your work done?


We mistakenly apply that same human understanding to our metaphysical purity.


“If we just prohibit alcohol we will raise a generation without the curse of drink.” – Remember that one?


The Bible teaches us, and we who are in Christ are supposed to have learned this lesson, that true purity is not soiled by contact with corruption. 


True purity cleanses the corruption that it encounters.

Revelation 7:14 (NRSV)
¹⁴ I said to him, "Sir, you are the one that knows." Then he said to me, "These are they who have come out of the great ordeal; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

Do not be afraid to go into the gutter, the prison, the crack house. You are the apostles of the Lord God and have nothing to fear, in this world or the next.

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